Singling out the best dancers in India is a task as tedious as counting the exact number of sugar crystals, for there are thousands of immensely talented dancers in the country, perhaps hidden in the unknown corners that lack highlight.
In a country that soars high on talent, dancers come with as much diversity as there is the world. From classical and hip-hop to contemporary and purely Bollywood, dance for a dance artist is a way of expression and communication.
They instill so much ‘life’ into their performances that dance itself becomes alive and unfolds in the space of the stage. Consequently, it leaves a lasting effect on the audiences. Being among the top dancers entails brilliance, perfection and sophistication of an artist’s craft.
Here are the Most Popular & Best Indian Dancers:
Hritik Roshan
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One of the most prolific dancers in India and in fact, in the entire world, this Bollywood actor is truly a trend setter. Popularly known as the ‘Greek God’ for his spectacular handsomeness and perfectionist performances on stage and screen, this actor-dancer has delivered exceptional dance acts throughout his journey in Bollywood.
He made his debut in the film industry with the 2000 blockbuster Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and immediately won hearts with his versatile acting and dance performance, especially in the song of renowned fame titled ‘Ik Pal Ka Jeena’.
From then on, he has spanned a diverse career as a dancer and actor alike and today, he has become one of the highest-paid actors in Bollywood. Emerging dancers till today draw upon Hritik’s signature steps as their inspiration for embarking upon their journey to dance.
Nora Fatehi
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One of the most well known dancers in India, especially in contemporary Bollywood numbers, Nora Fatehi has acquired several million followers in a short span of her fame.
Originally from Canada, she started her career as a dancer, model and singer in Hindi film industry and launched into fame with the song ‘Dilbar’ that managed to garner about 25 million views in only 24 hours of its release on YouTube.
She has also appeared in several Telugu films and instantly mesmerized the audiences with her exceptional and entertaining performances. Some of her other projects include Kick 2, Bahubali: The Beginning, Mr. X, Batla House, Street Dancer 3D and so on.
She started dancing during her years of study and became a professional dancer by mastering the art of belly dancing, without any formal training. She was also signed by the agency ‘Orange Model Management’ and this is what embarked her onto her journey in India.
Tiger Shroff
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He is one of the recent contemporary actors in Bollywood, a prolific dancer and a trend-setting youth icon for the country.
In the selected number of films that he has worked, Tiger has delivered a unique combination of flawless dance performances and action stunts, revealing his immense talent in the craft. Interestingly, Tiger has drawn his ideal and inspiration of dancing from Hritik Roshan.
Consequently, his dance style is concomitant with the latter, but needless to say he instills his own graceful moves and proves his dancing prowess completely as his own! Some of his well-known performances can be seen in the films such as Student of the Year 2, Heropanti and the Baaghi trilogy. Indeed, he is undoubtedly the real ‘tiger’ of dancing.
Shahid Kapoor
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One of the most renowned celebrities of present time, Shahid Kapoor started his career as a background dancer in the 90s and went on to perform in music videos and commercials. Today, hardly anyone is unawares as to the talent that this terrific man produces on screen.
From his initial fame as the chocolate boy of Bollywood to his more recent portrayals as the aggressive ‘macho’ man, this actor and dancer started his dancing career at the age of ten when he joined Shiamak davar’s dance academy.
Some of his best dance performances can be seen in the song sequences of movies such as the Bollywood hit film Jab We Met, Chance Pe Dance and many others.
Besides, his unforgettable acting performances in Kabir Singh, Udta Punjab, Haider, Rangoon, Padmaavat etc.. has set his reputation as one of the unmatchable leading actors and dancers in India.
Dharmesh Yelande
If there is someone in the field of dance who narrates the true definition of success, it is none other than Dharmesh Sir, as he is popularly addressed.
Perhaps one of the best dancers in India, he gained fame as a participant in several dance reality shows and was eventually hired as a choreographer by Farah Khan, for her film Tees Maar Khan. Since then, he has acted and performed in several Bollywood projects namely Nawabzaade, Banjo, ABCD, ABCD 2 and Street Dancer 3D.
In interviews he has revealed that he draws his inspiration from popular dance icons Prabhu Deva and Remo D’Souza. Besides his signature style, he is also learned in Bharatanatyam and break dance. At present, he runs his own dance academy D’Virus Dance Academy in his hometown Vadodara, Gujarat.
From working at his father’s tea stall to becoming one of the most popular dancers in India, his journey is truly inspiring and worth every bit of fame that he has earned.
Raghav Juyal
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This weirdly talented boy, once appeared as a contestant in the auditions of a television dance reality show and since then, he has deeply etched his memory in the minds and hearts of millions of people all over the world.
His unique style of dance, which he describes as the ‘slow yet powerful movements of a crocodile and the swiftness of a cockroach’ has earned him the famous nickname of CrocRoaz. Besides, he is also known as the King of Slow Motion, for his surreal dance moves never fail to gather applause from the audience.
He too, rose to fame as a participant in several dance reality shows, where he developed his signature dance style and became the most sought after dancers in the world.
Also, over the years he has expanded his presence on screen as a comic host and actor on television and in Bollywood films such as Nawabzaade, ABCD series and Street Dance 3D.
Terence Lewis
Undoubtedly the best among the contemporary dancers in India and the world, Terence Lewis, with his unmatchable talent has come to be regarded as the master of the said dance form.
He has choreographed several Bollywood films like Lagaan, Jhankaar Beats and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela, apart from musicals, stage shows, commercials, musical videos and national and international dance competitions. He was also the choreographer for Disney India’s first theatre film production titled the Beauty and the Beast.
Besides, he has also appeared as a co-judge in many dance reality shows. He runs a dance academy by the name of Terence Lewis Contemporary Dance Company that has launched emerging artists into Bollywood, television etc.. and it also conducts contemporary dance workshops across the globe.
His near perfect, sensuous and breath-taking dances have attracted millions of hearts and made him one of the best dancers of the country.
Shakti Mohan
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One of the most brilliant female dancers in India, Shakti Mohan is a trained dance artist who mastered the art of contemporary dance from the Terence Lewis Dance Foundation Scholarship Trust. She rose to fame as a winner of the reality show Dance India Dance Season 2 and since then, has seen the journey upwards.
She went on to act in popular teenage drama Dil Dosti Dance and High School Musical (Indian version) and choreographed dance sequences in films such as Tees Maar Khan, Samrat and Co., Nawabzaade, Dhoom 3, Kanchi etc.. Her unique and graceful dance moves has earned her acting and choreographer roles in music videos, films, television and so on.
She runs her own dance academy by the name of Nritya Shakti, where several students like her are trained in contemporary dance.
Remo D’Souza
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Perhaps, this celebrity figure denies any need for an introduction! One of Bollywood’s greatest talents, Remo D’Souza is an actor, dancer, director, producer and choreographer. Starting as a reality show judge, he ventured to become a director for a Bollywood film FALTU, which became only moderately successful at the box office.
However, his next directorial projects ABCD, ABCD 2 and Street Dancer 3D have earned immense popularity, recognition and several awards.
As a choreographer, he has scaled great heights by designing dance steps for particular songs in films such as Kalank, Bajirao Mastani, Student of the Year, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and countless others. Almost all of his dances have won him awards including Filmfares, Zee Cine Awards, Producer’s Guild Film Awards among others.
His dedicated devotion to his craft has made him one of the top dancers in India and in the world, without a hint of any doubt.
Natasa Stankovic
Originally a Serbian model, actress and dancer, Natasa made her debut in Bollywood with Prakash Jha’s film Satyagraha, where she appeared in a dance number opposite Ajay Devgn.
Following this, she has delivered powerful dances in films such as Fukrey Returns, FryDay, Zero and starred opposite Badshah in his music videos with millions of followers and gained the popularity that she has today. Besides, she also made a digital debut in the webseries The Holiday by Zoom Studios.
Lately she has been seen as a contestant in the latest season 9 of Nach Baliye. A lesser known fact about the actor-dancer is that she is a professionally trained ballet dancer. On the first day of the New Year, she became engaged to the well-known cricketer Hardik Pandya.
Lauren Gottlieb
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An American dancer and actress, Lorren Gottlieb made her Bollywood debut in Remo D’Souza’s directorial project ABCD.
When in India, Lauren spent three months learning Hindi, Bollywood techniques, and filming in Mumbai alongside Indian film stars Prabhu Deva, Kay Kay Menon, and Ganesh Acharya as well as other stars from the hit dance reality show Dance India Dance – Salman Yusuff Khan and Dharmesh Yelande.
Director Remo D’Souza was a fan of Lauren’s when she first appeared on the American series So You Think You Can Dance in 2005 and said he knew he would one day introduce her to Bollywood.
Post this, she has appeared in several dance shows, music videos etc.. She also featured in Badshaah’s music video for the song Mercy. Consequently, she has earned several million followers on Instagram, where she is highly active and engaged with her fans. She has lately been in news highlights for her experiences of battling depression.
Paul Marshal Cardoz
An Indian dancer, choreographer and television personality, he rose to fame as a contestant in the popular dance reality show Dance India Dance Season 3.
During his journey on the show, he gained immense popularity with his surreal and heart-striking performances and turned out to be one of the most passionate dancers in India. His expertise lies in lyrical hip-hop dance style and currently works as an Assistant Choreographer in Bollywood.
He can also be seen as a Captain on the reality show India’s Best Dancer. His extraordinary talent earned him the title of ‘Paul Sir’ on television. He draws his inspiration from Prabhu Deva and idolizes him as his dance guru. Indeed, one cannot just come to agree that he is a self-taught dancer!
Allu Arjun
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A renowned Indian actor, producer and dancer, Allu Arjun primarily works in the Telugu film industry and indeed, is one of the best dancers in India. Soon after his launch in Tollywood, he started earning praises from the critics for his mannerisms in acting and his dancing.
He has undertaken a versatile diversity of roles in films and impressed the audiences with his unique style of dancing and comic timing. With several of his dance numbers, Arjun has not only made dancing graceful with his moves but has made everything appear so effortless.
Some of his popular dance sequences include Butta Bomma, Super Machi, Cinema Choopistha Mava, My Love is Gone and several others. His dancing avatar has had millions dancing on the tunes to his steps.
Prabhu Deva
He is one of the best known choreographer, director, producer, actor and dancer in India. Prabhu Deva has predominantly worked in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi film industries. The celebrated dance guru has won billions of hearts with his dance moves in popular songs, beginning from as early as the 90s.
These include Que Sera Sera from the film Pukar, Muqabala, Oorvasi Oorvasi and the more recent song sequences in the films like Wanted, ABCD, ABCD 2 and so on. Although, most famous among his choreography is the Bollywood style of dancing, he is also learned in Indian classical dance forms.
Despite being at the zenith of his dancing career, he remains to be one of the most humble and down-to-earth star icons in the industry.
Quite recently, he was honored with the Padma Shri award for his extraordinary contribution to the field of performing arts. Besides, he is also the proud recipient of Filmfare awards, National Film Award and the Filmfare Awards South among others.
Saroj Khan
Known as the ‘Mother of Dance and Choreography in India’, this popular dancer has an expansive span of career, beginning from the 80s and lasting out till today. Some of the Bollywood’s leading actresses have danced out on her steps and won millions of hearts.
Be it the renowned Dhak Dhak song starring Madhuri Dixit, to the more recent filmography of Kalank, starring Alia Bhatt, Saroj Khan has managed to occupy her stance as among the leading female dancers in India by her exquisite craft.
One can even say to an extent that Madhuri Dixit’s reputation as the queen of graceful expressions and dance is backed by the efforts of Saroj Khan herself. Consequently, she has been awarded with Filmfare best Choreography Award, American Choreography Award etc.. for her extraordinary work for the films. She has appeared as a co-judge for numerous dance reality shows as well.
Conclusion
So, these are some of the most popular and best dancers in India, that will give you some serious dancing goals. And do not forget to check out some of their amazing dance performances and acts and get your feet moving to the tunes of their steps! Which of these dancers is your favourite?
